Manufacture of barb-wire.



E. F. SHELLABERGER. MANUFACTURE OF BARB WIRE.

9E J.. 6 ,w NH fl b mm w m mw w m 1 m M Z APPLICATION FILED APR. 3, 1908 904,096.

E. F. SHELLABERGER. MANUFACTURE OF BARB WIRE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 3, 1908.

904,096, Patented Nov. 17. 1908 3 SHEETS-SHBET Z.

Wide-j,

904,096. I R Patented Nov. 17,1908. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N MN v m length,

PATENT GFFIOE.

EDWARD F. SHELLABERGER, OF DE KALB, ILLINOIS. I

MANUFACTURE OF BARB-WIRE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908- Appliea'tion filed April 3, 1908. Serial No. 424,999.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD F. SHELLA- BERGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at De Kalb, county of Dekalb, State of Illinois, having invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Barb-Vim, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is the economical production of a single-strand barb-wire and to this end I take a round rod or wire (say of No. 9 gage) and flatten or deform it at intervals thus producing alternating portions of different diameters, the reduced portions having a'slightly flattened or oval crosssection affording shoulders at their junction 'with the unreduced portions, these latter aifording barb-seats and the shoulders preventing longitudinal movement of the barbs. The barbs are formed simultaneously with the flattening action and are loosely coiled on the barb-seats so as to" be capable of rotating thereon. I accomplish these results preferably by instrumentalities which efi'eet first the flattening of the wire, then forming and applying the barbs, and then spooling the barb wire in one continuous operation and without arresting the travel of the wire. To this end I can conveniently employ. roller dies arranged in pairs for redncing the rod, the acting face of each roll being provided with grooves of such depth only throughout the major part of their wire will be reduced to any desired extent,

said grooveshaving a shorter, deeper poh tion producing between the pair an orifice as large or largt rthgin the diameter of the wire so as to leave unreduced portions therein alternating with the reduced portions. A series of these die faces may be provided upon the periphery of each roll so that single revolu ion of the die rolls will. effect two or more reductions ofthe wire in sequence. For commercial purposes the barbs will be placed at predetermined inter *als, say three to six inches apart, and it is practicable to use roller dies ha ving a circumference of nine to eighteen inches and the number and length of the die faces in also prefer to employ l'iarb-t'orining mechanism which will "form and apply the barbs to the wire without interruption of its travel, and to accomplish this prefer to mount these -=vire coilingdeviccs so as to have a travel and the rolls being so set, that the.

ay be varied as desired. T

with the wire during the ceiling operation and a return movement at the end of each coiling operatidn. The barb wire is reeled up on a spool in the usual manner and the several mechanisms will be so timed as to perform their sei eral operations in due/order and relation.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown means well adapted for carrying out my invention but it will be understood that said means, are intended to be typical only and may be substituted by others, and, considered in its broader scope, the method-may be carried out by widely differing means or even by hand. The apparatus shown in the drawings comprises reels for supporting the rolls of two plain wires one of which forms the longitudinal strand and from the other of which the barbs are formed; a reel or spooler for reeling up the barb wire, a pair of tension rolls for-causing the wire to feed with a uniform speed; cylindrical die rolls for reducing the strand wire at intervals; means for feeding the wire from which the barbs are formed across the strand Wire; means for severing said wire to produce and a coiler which wraps such short pieces of wire around the strand to form the barbs, these several niechai'iisms being so timed as, to act in due order and relation whereby to produce such barb wire continuously and during its constant travel.

Some of the mechanisms shown in the accompai'iying drawings, particularly those having'to do with the supporting and movement of the wires and the forming and application of the barbs are shown in my Patent No. 704,710 of July 15, 1902, but the machine shown in said patent was intended to produce a had no provisions wire.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l. is a plan view (if a machine for carrying out my invention. parts being omitted and others broken away; Fig. 2. is a side elevation. of

for reducing the strand the reducing rolls, showing their action upon the strand wire: Fig. tjis a sectional detail of the same; Fig. 5. is a diagrammatic view, particularly intended to show i the relation of the wirc-supporting reels and the coiling spool to the operative mechanism l of the machine; Fig. (3. shows a segment of pieces of suitable length to form the barbs;

the same; Fig. 3. is a sectional elevation of' double strand barb wire and the barb wire in plan; and Fig. 7 a crosssection thereof through. the reduced portion, the coil showing in side elevat1on.

It'will only be necessary to describe in detail so much of the mechanism of this machine as is of novel construction, it being premised that a particular description of most of the operative parts of the machine can be found in my patent before mentioned and that the gearing and some of the other parts are of well-known construction and, therefore, need no particular description. Briefly described, there isamounted on the supporting frame-work 10 of the machine, at the rear end thereof, a pair of regulating rolls 11, 12. between whieh the wire is fed through the wireguide 13. These rolls may be smooth-faced or slightly grooved and their purpose is to produce an even feed of the wire, said rolls being positively driven through a train of gearing from the main driving shaft 14. From this train or" gearing the reducing rolls 15, 16 are also driven, said rolls being provided in their peripheries with grooves 17 of such depth that when the faces of the rolls are brougl'it together they will eil'ectthe reducing action upon a round rod or wire 18 there being provided deeper portions 17 in the. grooves which will permit the passage of the wire therethrough without reduction, as is clearly indicated at 18. Preferably three or more of the grooves 17 will be-forined circumferentially on the roll separated by deeper grooves 17 so that at each revolution of the roll three or more reductions will be effected. Preferably also three or more of these sets of peripheral grooves will be formed in each of the rolls so that when one becomes worn the roll may be shifted laterally on or with its bearing so as to-bring another set of die faces into action. This construction is indicated in Fig.

T he roll 16 may be mounted on a shaft 19 in a suitable box or bearing and the roll 15 is mounted upon a shaft 20 and upon the bearings or boxes QLthereof two threaded stems are made to bear, said stems being provided at their upper ends with pinions 23 between which a pinion 24 carried by the stem having a hand wheel 26 is placed so that by turning the hand wheel uniform pressure may be brought to bear upon the two ends of the shaft 21, thus providing for the proper alineinent or" the roll 15. The rod 18 after passing through the reducing rolls is carried through a suitable wire guide 2.? and coiler spindle 28. The spindle 28 is carried in a bearing 29 mounted upon a slid ing table 30 its square shank 3i telescoping with a driving arbor 32 mounted in a bearing 33-on a stationary part of the frame work. This arbor is driven by the vertically sliding rack 23% operating on the pinion. 35 mounted on a short shaft having a gear thereon. Upon the sliding table o is -mounted the teed mechanism for the wire 38 from which the barbs are formed and the cut-oil mechanism consisting of the adjustable block 39 and the knife 40, these mechanisms being so driven and timed as to feed a short lel'igth oi. the wire 38 across the wire 18 and sever it, whereupon the caller will engage such short length of wire and wrap it loosely about the barb-seat 18 From the barb forming inechanisiuthe barbed wire is drawn out and wourld upon a spool 40, Fig. 5.

The several mechanisms are so arranged that when the strand. wire is threaded through the machine and fastened to the spool (the latter being constantly revolved) such wire will be drawn between the regulating rolls and the reducing rolls and through the hollow arbor and ceiling spindle whereby such rod or strand will be flattened at regular intervals. The wire from which the barbs are formed will also be fed reg ular intervals an the cut-oft mechanism and ceiling mechanism will be operated to apply the barbs without interruption of the travel of the strand wire. To this end, the table ca rving the feedil'lg mechanism is given reci ."ocatilig motion in the manner described in my previous patent.

It will. be urulerstood that while the mechanism abodescribec. with the exception ot the redr r;- rolls, is of known construction that its combination. and co-action with such reducing is novel, so far as I am aware, and the rediu r lls It also believe to be of novel con .1; by the mechanism or apparatus in shown and described will be made the subject of a separate application, the same not being herein claimed.

As my invention inheres in the method of producing single-strand barb-wire of the kind and character above described, the means which i have shown may be varied or even substituted hand mani i'ulation, but I prefer to use such novel mechanisms because thereby this product can be produced commercially.

The product, which is shown practically full-sized in F 6, consists essentially ct a singlestrand wire reducer throughout the major portion of its length, such reduced portions alternating with unreduced portions, the reductions forming shoulders 18 at the ends of the unreduced portions serving to prevent too great movement of the barbs 18 upon the strand. l have referred to these barbs as being loosely coiled uponresults to live stock from coming in contact with rigid barbs. Ithas long been desired to secure this result but heretofore where it has been attempted to mount barbs loosely vcult matter and besides does not afford any yielding character in the barb itself. On

account of the difficulties above suggested and others which are obvious or will be found upon an attempt to produce such single-strand wire according to old methods, no such wire has been heretofore offered as a marketable commodity.

By means of the apparatus above described I am enabled to produce single strand barb-wire, having loose barbs cmnnu rcially, the nachinesd now have in use having a capacity of about two hundred and fifty (250) barbs per minute, such barbsfbe- 'ing spaced three inches apart.

cross-section is within the scope of my invention. It is also obvious that this flattening and compression of the strand wire will tend slightly to elongate the same.

The product is claimed in my allowed application Serial No. 4016M filed November 1 l. 1907.

I claim:

1. The hereiirdescribed method of making single-strand barbed wire which consists in l'latteninga round wire or rod at intervals whereby to increase its lateral cross-section leaving portions thereof of normal cross-section and coiling short pieces of wire loosely about the unreduced portions to form barbs.

2 The herein-described method of making single-strand barb wire which consists in feeding the wire continuously bet-ween moving surfaces, whereby to flatten and increase the lateral cross-section of the wire at intervals, and simultaneously coiling short wires loosely upon the unreduced portions to form barbs.

The herein-described method of making single-strand barb-wire which consists in flattening a round wire or rod at intervals throughout the major portion of its length wherelrvto increase its lateral cross-section and elongate the wire, the intervening shorter portions thereof remaining of normal cross-section, and then coiling short pieces of wire loosely about the unreduced portions to form barbs.

EDWARD l SllEhhABERGER;

\Vitnesses C. C. LINTIUUUM, ALLEN \V. Moonn. 

